Sunday, January 9, 2011

John Bankston's Fabulist Garden

'With a distinct aesthetic that recalls children's coloring books, the work of John Bankston ventures into a realm where fairy tales, science fiction, and contemporary issues of racism and sexuality coexit. Bankston tends to work in series that set forth contemporary fables addressing themes of masculine identity and transgression. ... his visual narratives, which lie somewhere between the Brothers Grimm and Tranny World -- a San Francisco cable television program that features transvestites -- describe a world where innocence is forever lost. ... characters disguise themselves in masquerade, blurring the boundaries between reality and fiction, human and animal characteristics, and masculinity and femininity.' [2002 SECA Art Award: John Bankston, Andrea Higgins, Chris Johnson, Will Rogan published by SFMOMA]